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Tom Holkenborg | |
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 Holkenborg at the Ultra Music Festival in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Born | Antonius Holkenborg (1967-12-08)8 December 1967 (age 57) Lichtenvoorde,Gelderland,Netherlands |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
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| Website | tomholkenborg |
Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967),[1] also known asJunkie XL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing electronica andbig beat music and film scores. His remix ofElvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" became a worldwide hit in 2002.
In film scores, he has worked withHans Zimmer and his companyRemote Control Productions onBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as composing the scores forZack Snyder's Justice League,Divergent,Mad Max: Fury Road,Deadpool,Tomb Raider,[2]Alita: Battle Angel,Terminator: Dark Fate,Sonic the Hedgehog,Scoob!,Godzilla vs. Kong,Army of the Dead,Sonic the Hedgehog 2,Three Thousand Years of Longing,Rebel Moon,Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver,Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga andSonic the Hedgehog 3.
Holkenborg was born inLichtenvoorde,Gelderland,Netherlands. Classically trained by his mother – herself an accredited music teacher – Holkenborg started playingpiano when he was three years old,drums when he was eight,[3] andguitar at 12. Influenced by thepsychedelic pop ofPink Floyd andKing Crimson, he took up thebass by age 14. After moving toLeeuwarden, at the age of 17, he decided to take a job at a local music store sellingkeyboards and other digital gear, and began to have an appreciation for the combination of electronic and organic sounds.[3] It was shortly after he discoveredsynthesizers that he joined the Dutchnew wave ensemble Weekend at Waikiki as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, touring extensively with the band, including through Poland and parts of the Soviet Union, from 1988 to 1991. He also produced and played on their 1994 album,Sputnik.[4] In 1993, Holkenborg producedAlmost a Dance by Dutch metal bandThe Gathering, and later that year went on to form theindustrial rock band Nerve with Phil Mills.[5] After signing with labelPlay It Again Sam in 1992 and releasing two LPs –Cancer of Choice (1993)[5] andBlood & Gold (1994) – he continued as a producer, working withhardcore punk and metal bands likeSepultura,Fear Factory, andDog Eat Dog,[5] while simultaneously licensing some of his instrumental electronic tracks for racing video games likeThe Need For Speed andTest Drive 5. It was during this time that he also began scoring the Dutch feature filmSiberia, which would be released byWarner Bros. Netherlands.[6]
In 1997, Holkenborg releasedSaturday Teenage Kick, his first album under the "Junkie XL" moniker.[5] Featuring singles such as "Billy Club", "Def Beat", and "Dealing with the Roster", the album combined pounding breakbeat rhythms with elements of rock and psychedelia.[5] Much of the album's songs featured lyrics and vocals byPatrick "Rude Boy" Tilon, vocalist for the Dutch rap rock bandUrban Dance Squad.[5] After a brief tour withThe Prodigy and festival dates atFuji Rock andRoskilde, Holkenborg made a name for himself in the upcoming U.S. rave scene. His second LP,Big Sounds of the Drags, was released in 1999, once again with Tilon providing vocal work to most of the album's songs, as in "Action Radius", "Power of Big Slacks", "Zerotonine", "Love Like Razorblade", "Legion", and "Next Plateau". "Future in Computer Hell (Part 2)", the last track on the album, was featured prominently on Welsh DJ and producerSasha's mix albumGlobal Underground 013: Ibiza.
While making inroads as a film composer – contributing to movies likeBlade (1998) andThe Beach (2000) – Holkenborg was asked to remixElvis Presley's 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" (with three different music videos) for a 2002Nike World Cup commercial, titled "Secret Tournament". The occasion marked the first time Presley's estate had granted permission for any of Presley's material to be remixed. The song reached No. 1 in 24 countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Mexico, and was released as a single under the name "Elvis vs. JXL". The song was also featured as the title song to theNBC TV seriesLas Vegas, and in feature films likeShark Tale,Next,Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,MegaMind, andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
The success of "A Little Less Conversation" set the stage for his 2003 double-disc album,Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin. The name "Computer Hell" referred to Holkenborg's Amsterdam studio and headquarters. Loosely based around the concept of a fictitious pirate radio station, the album's 3PM side features collaborations withThe Cure'sRobert Smith,Depeche Mode'sDave Gahan,Peter Tosh,Chuck D fromPublic Enemy,Gary Numan,Solomon Burke, andSaffron, along with the said Elvis Presley remix. The 3AM side consists mostly of progressive house instrumentals, including "Breezer", a collaboration withSasha. The album was to be launched simultaneously with a fully functioning internet radio station at www.RadioJXL.com, which was to feature exclusive shows and mixes with top EDM producers and DJs, but the undertaking proved to be too expensive and time-consuming to continue. Subsequently, two downloadable albums were released from the site:7AM Ambient and7AM Dance.
Holkenborg decided to relocate to Los Angeles in 2003, and in April 2006, released his fourth full-length album,Today, an album that reflected the personal and professional changes that were occurring in his life.Today features only one guest vocalist, Nathan Mader, and reverts to the more guitar-based sound of his first two albums. His fifth album,Booming Back at You, saw Holkenborg cultivate a stronger club sound punctuated by tracks like "1967 Poem", featuringSteve Aoki. Many of the lyrics on the album were written in collaboration withElectrocute'sNicole Morier, who appears in "Mad Pursuit", "Not Enough", and "New Toy". The album was released onArtwerk Music, a joint venture betweenNettwerk Music and video game companyElectronic Arts, and peaked at 11 onBillboard's Top Electronic Album chart. It was the first Junkie XL full-length to chart in the U.S., and featured the hit single, "More", with Lauren Rocket. Rocket also contributed vocals to theSiouxsie and the Banshees' cover "Cities in Dust".
On 27 November 2012, Junkie XL released his sixth full-length album, entitledSynthesized. The album was preceded by a single EP for "Molly's E", which was released on 6 September and features remixes byAzari & III andCanblaster. A second single, "Gloria" (with Fredrik Saroea ofDatarock), was released on 23 October. Stylistically,Synthesized strikes a balance between the introspective sound ofToday and the club-heavy sound ofBooming Back at You, and features collaborations with Isis Salam ("Off The Dancefloor"),Tears for Fears'Curt Smith ("When Enough is Not Enough"), andTommie Sunshine ("Love Machine"). The album also features a spoken word excerpt fromTimothy Leary'sThe Psychedelic Experience, read by Leary, on the song "Leave Behind Your Ego". A video for "Off the Dancefloor" was created by Japanese electro-pop bandTrippple Nippples. The videos for "Gloria" and "Leave Behind Your Ego" were directed by John Christopher Pina for Clean Sweep.
In collaboration withHarry Gregson-Williams, he contributed additional music to theTony Scott filmDomino (2005), and served as the composer for the Dutch filmBlind,[7] which was nominated for Best Original Music Score at theNetherlands Film Festival in 2007 and received the Grand Prix award for Best Original Music Score at the 2008 Aubagne International Film Festival. Holkenborg continues to work in the film and television industry, collaborating with composerHans Zimmer as a sequencer programmer onChristopher Nolan'sThe Dark Knight Rises. The film marks the fourth scoring collaboration between Holkenborg and Zimmer, includingMegamind (2010),Inception (2010) andMadagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012). Since moving into Zimmer'sRemote Control Productions studio, the two have worked together on many other musical projects, including a remix of that year's Academy Awards theme song. Holkenborg has provided music for the filmsKingdom of Heaven,Domino,DOA: Dead or Alive,[8]Shark Tale,The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury,The Animatrix, andResident Evil, and has had his original music featured in a number of major motion pictures, includingBlade ("Dealing with the Roster") andThe Beach ("Synaesthesia"). In 2013, he composed the music for the Relativity Media filmParanoia.[9] Shortly after, he was brought in byZack Snyder, the producer of300: Rise of an Empire, to create the score for the film.[10] He is credited as the composer for the 2014 filmDivergent, withHans Zimmer credited as "Executive Producer" for the soundtrack.[11] He is a member of the Magnificent Six, a collaborative group of five other musicians, consisting ofHans Zimmer,Pharrell Williams,Johnny Marr (fromThe Smiths),Michael Einziger (fromIncubus), Andrew Kawczynski, and Steve Mazzaro.[12] The "supergroup" of artists ranging from diverse backgrounds teamed up to compose the score forThe Amazing Spider-Man 2. He was the primary composer for the 2015 filmMad Max: Fury Road[13] and the 2016 filmDeadpool,[14] and was co-composer for the filmBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,[15] along with Zimmer (who still wrote all the main themes,[16] including the music forWonder Woman which was later used in the film of the same name). Holkenborg was set to compose the music for the Snyder's 2017 filmJustice League, but was replaced byDanny Elfman when director Joss Whedon was brought on to finish the film.[17] Holkenborg composed the scores for the 2018 filmMortal Engines, the 2019 filmsAlita: Battle Angel[18] andTerminator: Dark Fate,[19] the 2020 filmsSonic the Hedgehog[20] andScoob!,[21] the 2021 releasesZack Snyder's Justice League,Godzilla vs. Kong,[22] andArmy of the Dead,[23] and the 2022 releasesThe 355,[24]Sonic the Hedgehog 2,[25] andThree Thousand Years of Longing.[26]
To go along with his numerous artist albums and EPs, Holkenborg has been creating original music for video games since the mid-1990s. In addition to composing the soundtrack forXbox racing gamesForza Motorsport andQuantum Redshift, Holkenborg is responsible for theSSX Blur soundtrack. He has also licensed a number of his album tracks for video game use. "Future in Computer Hell (Part 2)", "Synasthesia", and "Dance USA"—all taken from his albumBig Sounds of the Drags—were licensed to the racing video gameTD Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed (2002). The title track forToday is featured on the soundtrack for the video gamesBurnout Legends andBurnout Revenge, while "More"—taken from his fifth album,Booming Back at You—is featured on the soundtrack to EA Games'Need for Speed: ProStreet, which also includes a full score from Holkenborg. His cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Cities in Dust" is featured on Electronic Arts'Burnout Paradise. He has written additional music for and licensed music toThe Matrix: Path of Neo,Destroy All Humans!,The Sims 2: Nightlife,The Sims 3,Need for Speed: High Stakes,Need for Speed: Underground,Need for Speed: Carbon,FIFA 08, andFIFA Street 3, among others. He composed the soundtrack for EA'sDarkspore.
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Holkenborg had made remixes—for both A-list pop superstars and lesser known artists. Highlights include work forScissor Sisters ("Mary", "Land of a Thousand Words"),Depeche Mode ("Enjoy the Silence"),U.N.K.L.E. ("Burn My Shadow"),Justin Timberlake ("What Goes Around"),Fatboy Slim ("Weapon of Choice"),Coldplay ("Talk"),Bloc Party ("Sunday"),Michael Bublé ("Sway"),Avril Lavigne ("Girlfriend"),Daft Punk ("The Grid"),Madonna ("4 Minutes"),Fischerspooner ("Emerge"), andHans Zimmer ("Inception" and "Bombers Over Ibiza"). His remix forBritney Spears' "Outrageous" was used in the 2004 filmCatwoman, and his remix of "And Then We Kiss" was featured on Spears' 2005 remix albumB in the Mix: The Remixes. In 2008, he was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remix ofMadonna's "4 Minutes". His remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" has gone to No. 1 in 24 countries.
Holkenborg's music has also been featured in a number of international ad campaigns for major brands likeNike,Adidas,Heineken, andCadillac. His remix ofEagles of Death Metal's "Don't Speak" was used in the 2008 Nike "Take it to the Next Level" commercial, which was directed byGuy Ritchie. "Today" was featured onESPN commercials forMajor League Soccer, while "A Little Less Conversation" provided the soundtrack to Nike's 2002 World Cup campaign.[27][28][29]
In 2003, Holkenborg created the musical theme of Dutch television channelNederland 3.[30]
Holkenborg is anassociate professor at the ArtEZ Conservatorium, one of the major art institutes in theNetherlands, where he teaches producing, remixing, andmusic composition. He resides inTarzana, Los Angeles,California.[31]
He uses the name JXL in cases where the term "Junkie" might cause offense. One example of this was with his biggest hit, a remix of the song "A Little Less Conversation" which was performed by Elvis Presley, a singer who toward the end of his life was addicted to prescription drugs and whose death in 1977 at the age of 42 was at least partially caused by them.[32] Holkenborg says of his name: "I called myself Junkie XL from the point of view that once you're completely overworked, you never want to go there again. The 'XL' stands for expanding limits; broadening up your vision."[33]
| Year | Title | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Quantum Redshift | Curly Monsters | Microsoft Game Studios | — |
| 2003 | Need for Speed: Underground | EA Black Box | Electronic Arts | "Action Radius" |
| 2005 | Burnout 3: Takedown | Criterion | Electronic Arts | — |
| Forza Motorsport | Turn 10 Studios | Microsoft Game Studios | — | |
| The Sims 2: Nightlife | Maxis | Electronic Arts | Neighborhood Theme remix | |
| 2005 | The Matrix: Path of Neo | Shiny Entertainment | Atari | Composed withTobias Enhus |
| 2006 | Need for Speed: Carbon | EA Black Box | Electronic Arts | Melody - Feel the Rush (Remix)Yonderboi -People Always Talk About The Weather (Remix) |
| 2007 | SSX Blur | EA Montreal | EA Sports BIG | — |
| Need for Speed: ProStreet | EA Black Box | Electronic Arts | Composed with Andre Ettema and Sam Estes | |
| 2008 | Burnout Paradise | Criterion | — | |
| 2010 | The Sims 3 - Re-Imagined | Maxis | — | |
| 2011 | Darkspore | Maxis | — | |
| 2015 | Madden NFL 16 | EA Tiburon | EA Sports | — |
| 2017 | FIFA 18 | EA Vancouver EA Romania | — | |
| 2024 | Skull and Bones | Ubisoft Singapore | Ubisoft | — |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nederland 3 | Musical score for the channel |
| 2012 | Lijn 32 | 8 episodes |
| 2019–present | Love, Death & Robots | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Chimerica | 4 episodes Composed withShigeru Umebayashi |
| 2020 | White Lines | 10 episodes |
